A New Direction for the Libertarian Party

Prepared January 12, 2003

By
Mark Schreiber
Marketing Director and Interim Development Director

Executive Summary

Mission of the Libertarian Party

"To move public policy in a Libertarian direction, by building a political party that elects
Libertarians to public office."

Objective
Our objective is to revitalize and provide a competent national political organization grounded in
libertarian principles, with a positively perceived brand identity among non-Libertarians, which
will empower Libertarian candidates to win elections in statewide and federal offices no later than
2008.

Situation
The Libertarian Party is experiencing two of the most difficult marketing challenges that can be
faced by an organization: A turnaround and a new product launch.

The LP has lost 31.7% of membership since our peak in Nov. 1999 and has yet to emerge as a
major political force after 30 years of existence. These facts force us to reexamine every aspect
of the party's organizational structure and its' positioning in the political marketplace.

Most of the plan outlined below has been tested and proven effective in Indiana. Indiana is the
only state to show significant growth in both membership and across-the-board vote totals in
2002. Additional elements of our plan have recently been introduced into our Indiana test market
and are being positively embraced by its' membership.

The Turnaround
A turnaround involves change, and change requires people to move outside their comfort zones.
This will undoubtedly result in short-term turmoil. There will be those who will resist any
change. In addition, there will be those who will wait to see if the changes are real. While not
certain to occur, we should be prepared to weather a shortfall of capital resources in the near
term.

We are looking to our major donors for support of our proposed changes, and to enable us to
bridge any negative fmancial impact from these shifts in our strategy.

Structural Changes
There are four major initiatives required to make the LP organizational structure solid and
effective:
1. Broadening our base to include small "1" libertarians by changing our organizational
model from a membership based organization to a contributor based / database driven
organization that allows us to widen rather than narrow our appeal;
2. A change in how we support our state affiliates in building and strengthening their
operations;
3. A focus on rebuilding our party by reaching out and serving a core constituency
composed of small business owners, an influential and powerful naturally libertarian
 constituency that cuts across broad ethnic and social economic strata. "The American
Dream".
4. Reconstitute the LNC so that its members provide a consistent, national influence, and a
resource for major donor acquisition and support.

Marketing and Political Changes

To effectively gamer the respect and support of the non-Libertarian voter and complete our
mission of electing Libertarian candidates to office we will;
1. Focus on issues that most people care about and craft positions on those issues that stress
the benefits of the Libertarian solution.
2. Run candidates that are prepared to win, and who reflect positively on the LP.
3. De-emphasize the drug relegalization issue and other issues that non-libertarian voters
perceive to be fringe issues.
4. Conduct a public relations based "branding" campaign designed to get people to adopt
the LP is their political home.

The Reorganization Process, Near Term

Financial Support
Secure a $2 million commitment from our major donors to; stabilize our current financial
situation and provide financial stability over the next two years so we can effectively make the
changes proposed, while maintaining our existing commitments. Establish milestones for those
donors to reassure them that progress is being made in a timely manner.

Research
Develop a sophisticated national database of non-Libertarian voters. This will be conducted in
the spring of 2003. This effort is designed to accomplish three things:
1. Identify groups of individuals who are favorably inclined towards Libertarian positions
and provide a valuable baseline against which we can measure our progress with various
constituencies.
2. Clarify our communication strategies on key national issues to better present our ideas.
3. Identify specific media and other outreach programs that will cost effective.

Marketing
Continue using Indiana and add three more states to our test market program in 2003.
Develop effective proven outreach methods to gain the active support of the small business
community. Begin our national branding efforts in earnest by summer of 2003 or earlier if
possible.

Summary
While every organization must adapt to changing circumstances, adherence to principles are what
endure. The principles of the Libertarian Party are the cornerstone of our freedoms and of
America itself. The tragedy that the Libertarian Party has, for 30 years, so badly communicated
these enduring principles is only offset by the fact that the LP is still viewed as the most
successful third partyf America since the Civil War. The initiatives we proposed here are
critical to revitalizing and securing the Libertarian Party as the savior of our national heritage of
freedom.
 We have the ability to raise $100,000 every year for the LPIN right now. We can
already have a budget of $100,000 to not only fund the State Office fully but to spend on
other Special Projects that never have enough funding. We could raise $100,000 and
have a comfortable amount in savings for more difficult times.

But in order to raise anything near $100,000 is going to take successful planning,
Central Committee support in implanting it and successful adaptation for when our plans
don't work the way we expected.

This is the initial plan explaining how we will raise $100,000. It details where the
sources of revenue should be expected and how much from each, when we need to reach
specific deadlines to remain on target and finally how to transition to a budget of
$100,000 per year.

We should realize it will not be a complete failure if we do not reach $100,000 on

our first attempt. Our budget would have an astonishing increase if we only raised
$80,000 or $90,000. But it would be a failure if the LPIN met its goal but failed to raise
enough early in the campaign to meet all of its financial obligations. There is not just one
goal or deadline but a series of them leading up to the one year mark to assist us in
raising more money than any Libertarian State Party ever has in a calendar year.

Goal 1: Raise $100,000 before November 1St, 2005

We can break down the sources of revenue into pledges, one-time contributions,
memberships or UMP payments, PAC contributions, events and other sources of income.
Pledges are the 94 society monthly pledges that form a continual stream of income. -time
contributions are donations that are not renewed every month. PAC contributions are
simply contributions from PACs. UMP payments are the part of a membership payed to
the states from National. Events are any events regardless of size that generate income
for the State Party. Other sources of income are everything else.

The following is a breakdown of totals that would allow us to reach our goal.

Monthly Pledges $56,400

One-time Contributions $19,450
Membership $8,950
Events $5,200
PACs $5,000
Miscellaneous $5,000
Total $100,000
 Goal 2: Raise Monthly Pledges to $56,400 for the calendar year

Our last process of monthly pledges came to the total of $2,462.99. Over a 12
month period this total would be $29,555.88. I believe we could nearly double the yearly
total and nearly triple the monthly total.

This will take less work than anyone might imagine. If just ten Central
Committee Representatives are able to increase pledges with either new or existing
pledger by $1O/month then we will meet our goal. It only takes ten people to make sure
they increase our pledges by $10/month every week

The State Office will do all of the Research to find prospects and inform the
Committee members on their fmdings along with their names, telephone numbers and
other information. The State Office will also inform the Representatives how much to
ask for and talk to them about their results every week.

The results could look like the following if the $1O/week rule was fulfilled

After October we would have raised a total of $56,400 in monthly pledges in

exchange for one evening a week at most.

Goal 3: Raise $19,450 in One-Time Contributions

Money raised in one-time contributions will be broken down into campaigns of

three months each. Three months is the shortest amount of time to ask for a second
contribution from most people.

Some people who give won't be asked again for another six months or even a
year depending on the person but others will be willing to give again after three months.
Those who say do not contribute or do not contribute as much as they would like may be
doing better financially after three months.

Not every prospect will be asked every three months. However, it provides a
cycle to reevaluate each donor and prospect and determine if they are ready to give to the
new fundraising campaign.

Every three months we will need to raise an average of $4,862.50 to remain on

target. Fundraising letters will be mailed quarterly. This should account for $2,000 per
letter.

The fmal $2,862.50 will primarily come from major donors who are capable of
giving $250 or more in a single contribution. A select group of persons will be making
these major donor phone calls or meetings.
 The State Office will provide the same kind of report on each prospect that is
provided for pledge prospects. A suggested amount to ask for will be provided along
with each report on a prospect. The State Office will call these Central Committee
Members to get updates and to solve any problems encountered.

Goal 4: Nearly Double Membership

Membership is important for countless reasons for us. However, it has two
distinct roles in fundraising. The first is it provides recurring income in the form ofUMP
payments. These are not large per person but do add up. The second role is far more
important. Membership is the best prospecting list we have for potential donors.

Not every member will be a donor, however for every ten members some of them
will be potential donors. The $25 membership fee alone demonstrates they are willing to
give to Libertarian causes. This does not mean every new member will be immediately
solicited for funds, however it does mean membership is a vital part of our fundraising
strategy for developing future donors.

I want to implement the make new friends but keep the old strategy. Once a
member expires a phone call will be made by the County Chair or District Representative
to talk about rejoining. Many of these members will just not have realized they had
expired.

The second strategy will be to devote funds as soon as they are available to
sending a letter to each new prospect from the National database and having the County
Chair or District Representative call them to talk about the LP and possibly joining.
These are NOT fundraising calls. Unless they say they want to make a donation, don't
ask. Simply talk about why they're interested in the LPIN and how involved they may
want to be. This system has been proven to turn 20% of prospective members into dues-
paying members.

Membership total goals will look like this:

GoalS: Raise $100 at an Event per Week

An small event will be scheduled once a week in rotating Districts to raise small
amounts of revenue. No events will be planned that have any costs for the State Office
other than travel. All events will be small social and entertainment centered events with
the goal to be simple to plan and not disastrous if they fail.

The model will be based on the Comedy Night Fundraiser rather than the larger
events for candidates. The goal of these is to supplement income with little or no risk and
small amounts of time. They will also provide a helpful role in mobilizing inactive areas
we want to organize and bringing new people to meet Libertarians outside of our standard
meetings.

Events will mainly involve entertainment oriented occasions like Happy Hour,
Comedy Nights, sporting events or anything else that is simple to setup and may be
willing to give the State Office free passes or where the costs are readily accepted by the
participants or another person. Expected required donation would be around $10 per
person at each event depending on the event.

The low expectations will allow us to easily exceed our goals on many occasions
and hopefully more than make up for any events that don't meet our goals. The State
Office may playa role in organizing these events but whenever possible will simply
coordinate the events the District Representatives will actually organize. This will also
allow the District Representatives to plan events that accomplish priorities for their own
district.

Expected attendance should be a minimum a/between 10-20 people to be

successful depending on the costs of travel if State Office Employees need to attend

Goal 6: Raise $5,000 from PACs in a Calendar Year

The $5,000 will likely be received in the final months of the calendar year rather
than the first months. It should not be a surprise if every penny comes in the final month
because we have not devoted many resources towards cultivating relationships with
PACs over the years.

A list of 45 PACs will be named to target before November. They will be broken
into three tiers of likelihood of providing support. The top 15 PACs will be broken into
groups of five based on likelihood to provide support. Efforts will be made to establish
relationships based on these divisions.

The strongest efforts will be given to the top fifteen and particularly to the top
five. From there PACs will begin to be eliminated as we find they are not interested in
working with us in the future. The list will continue to shift PACs from one tier to the
next and some tiers may expand or contract as we continue to build relationships with
these groups.

When it is believed we are at a point to solicit a donation, then we will ask. The
results may be surprising but this is the largest experiment of our plans.

Goal 7: $5,000 in Miscellaneous Revenue

Every year our Voter Registration list is sold for $3,000 to a company that
compiles databases based on Voter Registration Lists. Additionally, we raise money
from ads to our newsletter, a fundraiser at the State Convention and other unexpected
sources. Help will be solicited from selected members of the Central Committee on ways
to raise miscellaneous revenue when the opportunity arises. However, this is more based
on opportunity than anything we can anticipate.

Transition Fundraising

Once we reach May our current structural deficit should be erased. Monthly
pledges will ensure the costs of the State Office are paid provided the expenses remain
static. Once we reach February our goals will raise $6370 for the State Office. That
would be enough to pay the office provided everything moves according to plan.

The months leading up to February have the most pressing concern particularly
October and November. November's deficit can be remedied by front loading one-time
donations for that quarter. A minimum of$2120 in one-time donations will need to be
raised provided all other revenue is reached as planned. If the entire $4862.50 was raised
equally amongst all three months then that would be about an extra $500 for the month
diverted from January.

October will then be the most difficult month. I will be using major donors to
raise the bulk of the money for this month from efforts made by selected Central
Committee Representatives with others helping with monthly pledges to brace ourselves
for the first fundraising quarter. Ifwe can build enough monthly donors we will build a
cushion for the next three months. If we raise enough in October from One-time
contributors we will build a savings to weather through the following three months if
absolutely necessary or preferable hold enough of a savings for security if fundraising is
slow at any point in the future.

Conclusion

Our wildest dreams can begin to become a reality if you help the State Office with
our plans. All that is being asked is to make about ten phone calls per week and to assist
in a minor event once every two months in your district. These very small efforts would
help us raise $100,000 annually.